Madley Vicarage Garden Light Railway
The Madley Vicarage Garden Light Railway, was a seasonal 5" Gauge Ride-on Railway, operating in the Vicarage Gardens of St Mary's Parish Church, in the former Capital of the Democratic Commonwealth Union of Madley, in the DCU Herefordshire Region of Influence. It operated from the 1990s primarily wth it's sole Vicarage Garden line running during summer fetes to raise funds for St Mary's Church. The line overlooked Glebe Field, which was a particular attraction at Vicarage End the terminus station, which would halt for 3-4 minuites before heading back down the line, allowing passengers a good view of the panorama of Glebe Field, as well as the growing plots in the garden. Tickets (photo left) were purchased at the primary station Vicarage Central for 25p return (about 40p today with inflation) per person, along with squash refreshments for another 25p. For 50p (about 90p today with inflation), visitors could be given the chance to be supervised whilst driving the train down the line - this was especially good, since flag signals, whistle-codes, semaphore signals could be learnt, whilst having a decent level of upper-arm ceardio-vascular exercise. Before a journey was permitted to proceed from the primary station of Vicarage Central, the home starter semaphore was in the 'stop' raised position, whilst the locomotive and passenger carriage was in the 2 metre train preparation area, usually swapping over drivers - then checking with the station manager or guard that all passengers were ready at the platform, to push the passenger carriage to the platform: then once all passengers were aboard, the station manager or guard came round with a ticket punch to ensure that all passengers had paid the fare for the journey. The home starter semaphore, would then be lowered to show the line ahead was clear for the train to proceed, after getting a green 'go' flag signal and a whistle from the station manager or guard, at which point the train would set-off up the line. On a average operating day during the season, there could be as many as 100 passengers riding the tiny 50 metre line, easily rivialling the 'fold-up' railways of many amusements. The railway operated a total of 4 seperate pieces of 5" gauge rolling stock: VGLR Class 1 Pedal Locomotive - a white, red and green Hand-pedal operated loco, used constantly throughout the life of the VGLR. It had a standard 2 axle bogey set which were interconnected each side by coupling rods, to transfer the hand-cranking power directly to all 4 drive wheels to give more torque. It operated in a 'push-pull' configuration with the passenger carriage, using a wooden buffer to press against a metallic buffer plate on the passenger carriage when operating 'up' the line from Vicarage Central due to the incline towards Jiniper Bridge. It was tethered to the carriage and reversed hand-cranking motion when operating 'down' the line from Vicarage End station. The driver had their own seat on the loco, which also helps to stabilise the loco and add the required drive friction to ensure adequate momentum for 'push-pull' operation. VGLR Class 2 Battery Locomotive- powered by a starter motor facing down - due to the motor PWM speed control burining out, it was mothballed and didn't see anymore service since the 1990s, despite attempts to bring it back into service with a simplified speed control set-up. VGLR Class 3 Passenger Carriage - A small white and red passenger carriage, with a capacity of between 2 and 3 passengers VGLR Class 4 Self-Propelled Guard Van - a bright yellow foot-pedal operated Guard van, constructed by JAJM Industries. It included lights and a horn. The VGLR's Vicarage Garden Line, running for a total distance of 50 metres, had three station stops: Vicarage Central - The primary passenger boarding station (next to the Vicarage House) where ticket buying and refreshment facilities were provided, along with an extended Train Preparation area between the Platform and the buffers of about 2 metres in length. Juniper Halt - Used as a request stop or brief break point for drivers just beyond Juniper Bridge that crosses the pond Vicarage End - The terminus station of the Vicarage Garden line, which also had a 3 metre train preparation or run-off area , overlooking both the vegtable garden and Glebe Field, which one year held a Civil War re-enactment. From around 2000, the Democratic Commonwealth Union Railways Authority (DCU Rail) was invited by VGLR's owner to assist in operating the line, due to the busy nature of the wider St Mary's Church Fetes. DCU Rail helped maintain and improve the line during the times it was not in use. This included: *Construction & painting of Wooden Semaphore Signals (three 'Home/Starter' signals at each station, two 'Distance' signals between stations down the line) *Construction & painting of Station Signage Boards *Clearence of obstructions & Snipping/pruning of grass, hedges & trackbed extension/levelling *Design (by JAJM Industries) & Construction of the VGLR Class 4 Self-Propelled Guard Van as an additional feature on the line *Attempts to upgrade and put the battery locomotive VGLR Class 2 back into service. *Design and construction of a bell warning system *Design and attempts to construct a locomotive switch track at Vicarage End terminus, so as to allow more rolling stock to traverse the line. After 4 successful operating years with DCU Rail's assistance, the retiring manager of the line, the Reverend Jones, dismantled the line 6 months from the end of service on the 24th June 2004, bringing to an end of 2 decades of service. Category:Infoboxes Category:Infobox templates